Real estate is tricky business. From economic conditions to people’ choices, availability of convenience stores to lack of sufficient parking, are a few of the hundreds of reasons that can make or break a sale. The only way to keep yourself afloat in such a volatile service area is to generate a large number of leads of which you can eventually convert a few to some respectable sales. An efficient way to do so is to get real estate referrals from people who have met or worked with in the past. This post will help you build a referral based Real Estate Clientele.
Where do referrals come from?
In order to build a referral based real estate clientele, you must first understand where referrals come from. Majorly, referrals come from clients that you have worked in the past and more importantly, the ones that have liked your service. Additionally, you could also get referrals from the social circle of your own family and close friends. These referrals are largely based on trust and come with the baggage that you cannot make your full margins from them. Alternatively, you could also get referrals from social gatherings that you attend, like the Rotary Club, where you have made formal associations with people from diverse backgrounds.
How old is your business?
The number of referrals you will get will directly depend on the age of your business. If you have worked successfully with many clients over the years, then by now, you must have a good amount of business coming out for referrals. But, if that was the case, you would not be reading this post. So, it is natural to assume that your business is still relatively new and the number of referrals you receive is relatively low.
Building your network
To generate a good amount of real estate referrals, you must now build up your network. So, when you meet new clients, make sure that you capture essential details like their likes, dislikes, priorities, budgets etc. and the likely time frame of their buying decision. Many estate agents use a computer based database management system to record such details, but if you are just starting off, then your resources are going to be low and prices of software look sky high.
So, you could craft a system of your own to record and recollect essential client requirements and remember to make follow up calls at the right intervals to ensure that the client conducts the business with you, when the right deal presents itself. A carefully crafted sale is likely to create more good will for you in the market than the money it makes and it is the goodwill that will generate referrals for you.
Associating with other businesses
As you move around the market trying to generate leads for your business, it would also be wise to make some associations with other business. Associating with another real estate business might seem like competition, but why not tie up with corporations and offer to help accommodating their staff in your town or city or helping students of the local university with their accommodation. This way, lead generation is more frequent and you can start building your network for real estate referrals in the future.
For any new agent, it is important to know that a real estate referral comes only after having spent some time in the market and having a bunch of happy customers who are spreading the word for you.
